The origins and growth of the Tablighi Jamaat in Britain

One of the largest Islamic movements of contemporary times, in terms of both geographical spread and number of activists, the Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) has received but scant attention from scholars. By and large, what little has been written about it has focused on the movement in its South Asian setting. To date no detailed study has been conducted on the TJ in the West, where it has become increasingly active in recent decades. This paper seeks to study the origins and growth of the TJ in one such Western country—Britain, starting from the 1940s continuing till the present day. The paper begins with a brief account of the growth of Muslim communities, largely of South Asian origin, in Britain and this provides the context for the study of the TJ in the country. It goes on to discuss the growing appeal of the TJ to these early migrants, seeing this as reflecting the concerns and needs of groups who found themselves culturally uprooted in an alien land. The attraction that the TJ held was not, however, uniform across these Muslim groups, and here we deal with the movement's special appeal among certain classes and ethnic clusters among Britain's Muslim communities of South Asian origin. Tracing the historical development of the TJ in Britain through the decades, we finally turn to the state of the movement in the country today. Here we focus on how the movement is faring among young British Muslims and search for answers to the question of why it appears to be facing a crisis of credibility, with young Muslims increasingly turning either the secular way or going in for more activist, and sometimes more aggressive, Islamic groups.     

Help-seeking and paranormal beliefs in adherents of mainstream religion,alternative religion,and no religion

This study explored the relationship between help-seeking and adherence to mainstream religion (Christianity, Judaism and Islam), alternative religion (for example, New Age spiritual belief and Paganism) and no religion (including agnosticism and atheism). Four-hundred and fourteen participants completed an online survey which included questions on demographics, help-seeking beliefs and paranormal beliefs (a modified form of the Paranormal Beliefs Scale was used). Previous research had explored adherence to various religions and compared aspects of help-seeking and paranormal beliefs separately. Comparisons were made between basic theoretical differences in belief (e.g., monotheism vs. polytheism vs. rationalism) and help-seeking beliefs. Implications of this research for therapeutic practice are discussed.     

中古时期阿拉伯教育与东西方文化交融

中古时期阿拉伯半岛社会制度发生巨大变革.存阿拉伯半岛的经济、政治、文化、种族、语言、地域等诸多因素的制约和培植下,阿拉伯民族由多神教改信一神的伊斯兰教,与此同时诞生了伊斯兰文化.中古时期阿拉伯文化大致经过创立期、发展期、鼎盛期、凋落期四个发展阶段,在其形成和发展的过程中,吸收了古希腊和古东方文化.以伊斯兰教为主的中世纪阿拉伯教育对东西文化的交流和传播起到了重要的作用,如吸收希腊、罗马、拜占庭、叙利亚、波斯、印度、中国等古代文化的营养相辅相成、融会贯通、有机结合,促进了东西文化的交融.阿拉伯科学形成的过程本身就是东西方文化的一次大融合的过程.本文从研究中古时期阿拉伯文化的产生和发展以及百年翻译运动入手,探讨中古时期阿拉伯教育对促进中西文化交融的作用.     

民初西医学术权威在中国的渗透与凸显

西医在中国的发展经历了曲折的过程,其文化权威和学术优势也是慢慢确立的。这一优势主要体现在近代医院的普遍建立、西医教育的日益勃兴、西医学术团体和学术期刊的迅速发展、文化权威对中医界的浸透。进而,西医执业制度和文化权威逐渐为中医界所欣羡和模仿。     

民初西医学术权威在中国的渗透与凸显

西医在中国的发展经历了曲折的过程,其文化权威和学术优势也是慢慢确立的.这一优势主要体现在近代医院的普遍建立、西医教育的日益勃兴、西医学术团体和学术期刊的迅速发展、文化权威对中医界的浸透.进而,西医执业制度和文化权威逐渐为中医界所欣羡和模仿.     

Hume's natural history of religion and the beginning of the social scientific study of religion

David Hume's The Natural History of Religion (1757) has rightly been considered a key work in the development of the social scientific study of religion. Compared with other pioneers in the field, Hume is precociously modern in many ways: (1) in his insistence on the distinction between the issue of origin and the issue of truth, (2) in his concentration on causes rather than reasons, (3) in his interest in the recurrent rather than the one‐time origin of religion, (4) in his search for a non‐religious rather than an irreducibly religious origin of religion, (5) in his comparative rather than particularistic approach, (6) in his inductive rather than deductive approach, (7) in his stress on the non‐rational rather than rational dimensions of religion, (8) in his focus on the effect as well as the origin of religion, (9) in his concern with the unintended rather than the intended effects of religion, and (10) in his separation of religion from ethics.     

Cultural and ethical issues concerning research on American Indian youth

A study of American Indian youths illustrates competing pressures between research and ethics. A stakeholder-researcher team developed three plans to protect participants. The first allowed participants to skip potentially upsetting interview sections. The second called for participants to skip potentially upsetting interview sections. The second called for participants flagged for abuse or suicidality to receive referrals, emergency 24-hr clinical backup, or both. The third, based on the community's desire to promote service access, included giving participants a list of service resources. Interviewers gave referrals to participants flagged as having mild problems, and reported participants with serious problems to supervisors for clinical backup. Participants seldom chose to skip sections, so data integrity was not compromised. However, participants did have more problems than expected (e.g., 1 in 3 had thought about suicide, 1 in 5 had attempted suicide, and 1 in 4 reported abuse), so service agencies were not equipped to respond. Researchers must accept the competing pressures and find ethically appropriate compromises that will not undermine research integrity.